Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Canadian Veterans Ready to do Battle With Stephen Harper Again

But these men and women were soldiers and they know a thing or two or two about fighting for something you believe in.

That's why they are prepared to go into battle with a prime minister who is trying to tell them they are no longer needed. Out of sight out of mind.

But just as they fought for us, now we have to fight for them. Writing to Harper or any member of his party is useless. They chuckle and then burn the letters.

Write to the media. Letters to the editor in local papers is a good place to start. We can't allow this to continue. Veterans planned a news conference for Tuesday in Ottawa to protest the Conservative government's decision not to appoint Pat Stogran to a second term as the voice of injured soldiers and RCMP members.

Dennis Manuge, who has fought the clawback of long-term disability benefits all of the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, said veterans will not let Stogran go without a fight. "It just seems everybody in Ottawa that tries to do their job and let the government officials and bureaucrats know what's failing and what's wrong and what needs improvement, are being canned," said Manuge, a former army corporal who suffered a debilitating back injury in 2000.

He and others plan to speak out for Stogran, a former ground commander in Afghanistan. His appointment three years ago as the first-ever veterans' ombudsman was hailed by Conservatives as the beginning of new era in the treatment of retired soldiers. Stogran, who will be part of news conference, was notified early last week that his appointment will not be renewed, according to federal government sources. Word of his anticipated removal leaked late Friday.